ween body and spirit, between the temporal
and eternal. Now the punishment of these people is to give them their
infinite, but in the form of an infinite repetition of their finite
act, which is just the spirit-crushing penalty. The power of these two
types, Tantalus and Sisyphus, is shown by the fact that all ages since
Homer have adopted them and wrought them over into many forms of art
and poetry.

Here then is the unsolved problem of the Greek world, a problem which
the Christian world has met and answered. Tantalus and Sisyphus are in
pain and toil simply through themselves; man, however, must have the
power to reach the apples, and roll the stone up hill, he must assert
himself as limit-transcending, as infinite, for once and for all, and
not caught in an infinite series, which is a veritable mill of the
Gods, that is, of the Greek Gods. Now this strange fact comes to light:
Homer, seer that he is, has a dim consciousness of this solution, and
faintly but prophetically embodies it in a new figure, namely, that of
Hercules, which we shall now consider.

3. The Homeric solution is to divide the man, or to double him, into
his shade (eidolon) and his self. The former belongs to Hades and
appears now; it is the finite Hercules with his striving and labors; he
still has his bow and arrow, is ready to slay beasts, snakes, and
birds. He is in quite the same punishment as Orion or even Sisyphus,
the penalty of all finitude is upon him. Yet the other side is given,
that of victory. "I, though the son of the highest God, Zeus, had to
endure boundless tribulation." Strangely Christian does this sound. "I
was put under service to a far inferior man to myself, who laid upon me
bitter labors." The higher must serve and save the lower. "Then the
mightiest labor I performed, I came down hither to Hades alive and
dragged thence the dog Cerberus"--conquered the great terror of the
Underworld. Thus Hercules has really transcended Hades, and so we read
here that "he himself is among the immortal Gods, in bliss," that is,
his infinite nature is there, while the finite part is still below in
Hades. Such is the old poet's far-cast glance, reaching deep into the
future and beyond the Greek world.

Still another significant word is spoken. "O Ulysses, unhappy man! Thou
dost experience the same hard fate which I endured upon the earth."
Thus does Hercules identify the career of Ulysses with his own--the
same striving and suffering, and